Making Money

Jiangcheng No. 2 High School, Martial Arts Class.

"Kid, what have you been busy with these past few days?" Fang Xiong sized Chen Yu up, sounding rather surprised.

Chen Yu had been taking leave constantly lately, but Fang Xiong had not paid much attention to it.

He was already an adult. He should be responsible for his own choices.

"Teacher, I've really been too busy lately." Chen Yu had been running between several martial arts gyms these past few days. Now that he had finally expanded Talent Forging's functions, he could finally spare some time.

"Teacher, about that job you said you'd introduce me to last time..." Chen Yu rubbed his hands together and chuckled.

A job?

Fang Xiong was stunned for a moment, seemingly unable to recall what kind of job Chen Yu meant.

But then, he remembered what he had promised Chen Yu before.

The ten-day deadline had already passed. He had thought Chen Yu had given up on the idea, yet he had not expected him to bring it up now.

"I told you already. The wealthy businessmen I know may pay well, but they aren't fools. They all require proficiency in martial arts."

"As for Thunder Extreme Saber at Greater Mastery, you can only go to ordinary training centers. A single class only pays five or six hundred Red Radiance Coins. It'd be a complete waste of time."

Boom!

The moment Fang Xiong finished speaking, Chen Yu formed a blade with one hand and slashed through the air. A faint rumble of thunder sounded beside Fang Xiong's ear.

"Thunder accompanying the blade—Thunder Extreme Saber at the Proficient Stage?!" Fang Xiong naturally could not mistake it. His expression turned startled.

"You brat, you actually did it!"

And it was not just Thunder Extreme Saber.

From Chen Yu's movement when he struck, Fang Xiong could even tell that Chen Yu had already broken through to the Body Tempering Fourth Stage.

It had only been a little over ten days!

"Teacher, I told you I was a late bloomer!" Chen Yu said with a low laugh.

He truly needed money too badly.

The stronger his talent became, the more desperately he craved cultivation resources. That was no exaggeration.

If he wanted to maintain the fastest cultivation speed, he needed at least three Advanced Qi-Blood Reagents every day.

That meant spending fifteen thousand a day!

He had no choice but to make money.

"Tsk, tsk..." Fang Xiong could not help circling Chen Yu twice, clicking his tongue in amazement.

"Different. Truly different."

"With this kind of talent for the blade, you're probably no weaker than me. Across all of Crimson Radiance Star, you could be considered nearly unrivaled!"

"It's just a pity your realm is still a bit lacking. In the end, you still don't have my style from back then."

At that last line, Chen Yu showed a hint of helplessness. "Teacher, my cultivation speed really isn't slow."

"If I had sufficient resources, I should be able to reach the Seventh-Level Body Tempering standard before the Martial Exam."

"I know." Fang Xiong nodded slightly. Of course, he understood that Chen Yu was no longer the same as before. He had truly awakened as a martial arts genius.

"Since you've met the standard I set, I'll naturally point you toward the right path."

"Don't rush off after school. I'll take you somewhere."

Deep within a dimly lit bar, several attractive men and women had gathered together.

"It has been confirmed. Another believer of my lord has been exposed and has fallen," a long-haired woman said solemnly.

At her words, the others showed no change in expression, only letting out slow sighs.

"What a pity. This newcomer had just completed the initiation ceremony, yet was exposed so quickly."

"Night Owl, have you found out why they were exposed?"

The long-haired woman—Night Owl—wore a somewhat strange expression at the question. "Some brothers and sisters obtained the records of this incident."

"Apparently, the newcomer was exposed because a classmate named Chen Yu became suspicious."

"A classmate became suspicious?"

This baffling reason left the others somewhat confused.

For the sake of the great plan ahead, they had kept their identities extremely well concealed. Unless they exposed themselves, no one should have been able to detect them.

Even if they revealed a tiny flaw and an ordinary student noticed something amiss, without evidence, who would believe an ordinary student's words?

"Does this Chen Yu have ties to one of River City's major clans? We've told the newcomers not to get involved with the descendants of those great clans if possible," a short-haired man said quietly.

The descendants of major clans had martial arts powerhouses behind them. Those experts had keen senses, and even the slightest flaw could easily alert them that something was wrong.

Moreover, those great clans were generally backed by New Moon's powerful elites. That was the greatest trouble of all.

"Chen Yu is only a Biohuman." Night Owl shook her head, though even her own tone wavered.

"A Biohuman?!"

The others all looked utterly incredulous.

An ordinary Biohuman had simply rooted out the newcomer they had recruited?

On Crimson Radiance Star, Biohumans held low status and had little voice. They were instead the easiest to assimilate into Evil God Faith.

Without evidence, what could a Biohuman possibly do?

"You may not believe this." Night Owl's expression was unreadable. "Chen Yu merely suspected the newcomer's identity. He claimed he felt afraid, then went to the newcomer's door with a blade and killed them."

Because he was afraid...

So he went to their door with a blade and slaughtered them?

"How absurd!"

The reason left everyone deeply perplexed.

"I also find it absurd." Night Owl nodded, then added, "I investigated this Chen Yu a little and discovered that he seems to be a Martial Arts Madman."

"A Martial Arts Madman... no wonder." The others relaxed somewhat, as though they had finally found a suitable explanation.

Martial Arts Madmen were a group of mentally ill people fanatically obsessed with martial arts. They did things with no regard for logic whatsoever.

Nothing outrageous was surprising when it came to them.

"Fortunately, it was only a newcomer. It won't affect the great plan ahead. Everyone, keep a low profile recently."

"As for this Chen Yu, we can eliminate him along the way once the plan begins. It won't take much effort."

Night Owl reminded them.

"Don't worry. We all know the great plan comes first!" Everyone nodded.

Just then, a blond-haired young man slowly approached the group, his gaze falling on Night Owl's curvaceous figure.

"Beautiful, interested in having a drink with me and a few brothers?"

The instant he spoke, everyone present turned toward the blond-haired youth, their gazes becoming strange at once.

"Handsome, I don't mind, but I might not be enough by myself." Night Owl covered her mouth and laughed softly.

"I have a few sisters here too. Want them to join us for drinks? We won't go home until we're drunk~"

The blond-haired youth's eyes lit up. "Of course."

The next moment, Night Owl called over two companions and left with the blond-haired youth.

The remaining few watched the blond-haired youth's hurried steps, strange smiles slowly appearing on their faces as they all left the dim bar.

Fang Xiong had not fooled Chen Yu.

After school that afternoon, he gestured for Chen Yu to follow him. The two drove swiftly toward the center of Jiang City.

"Teacher, could you tell me in advance what the sparring partner job involves?" Chen Yu asked quietly from the passenger seat.

"A sparring partner is basically half a martial arts instructor. You just teach blade techniques and practical combat," Fang Xiong replied.

"About one class every three days. You negotiate the price yourself."

"But there's no need to be nervous. The employer is currently on New Moon. You'll be teaching his illegitimate son, and only need to deal with his butler."

"New Moon!" Chen Yu's heart stirred. That was where Crimson Radiance Star's true elite gathered.

Several centuries ago, Crimson Radiance Star had undertaken massive development of New Moon, and most of its powerful elites had moved there.

At the same time, they remotely controlled Crimson Radiance Star's political and economic lifelines from New Moon.

"Kid, if you want to participate in the Battle of Myriad Stars, New Moon is an obstacle you must overcome."

"Crimson Radiance Star's technology has been locked down by those powerful elites on New Moon. If you want to leave Crimson Radiance Star, you'll have to deal with New Moon sooner or later."

"Remember this: New Moon is the gateway to the stars."

Fang Xiong drove with a faint smile on his lips.

He had always believed that Chen Yu's talent did not qualify him to participate in the Battle of Myriad Stars, so he had never taken it seriously.

Even now, he still believed that.

Chen Yu possessed blade talent comparable to his own, but even so, he was still far from meeting the minimum qualifications to participate in the Battle of Myriad Stars.

But... it was enough for Chen Yu to escape the prison that was Crimson Radiance Star.